Smiles
by dwparsnip
Summary: Teyla contemplates Jennifer and the way she smiles. McKeller pre-ship I guess.


Holy crap this is my sixtieth fic! I need to get a hobby or something. Wait a second…;)

Thanks to the usual suspects who continue to stalk…I mean support…me and thanks to everyone for reading.

MGM still owns SGA. Unbeta-ed.

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Teyla had been more than proficient at reading people even at an early age. It was simply something she was able to do, read a person's stance or their facial expressions to know what they were thinking and feeling. Because of this, she had honed her observational skills over the years until they had become as effective a tool for her as her skills with the Bantos rods had become. She had taken to observing as much about people as she could, sometimes to her detriment, but that was all a part of the give and take of the universe.

She sat now in the Mess with Torren sleeping in his stroller beside her table, picking at her breakfast and paying only partial attention to the long line of people currently moving along the breakfast buffet style counter. Her interest piqued however when Dr. Keller came into her line of sight, who was chatting with the woman in front of her, one of her staff- Sandy, if she recalled correctly.

Teyla reached down and adjusted the thin blanket covering her son before returning her attention to Jennifer. She'd had plenty of opportunities to observe the young woman in many different settings and under a wide range of circumstances: she was intelligent, a wonderful healer, kind, beautiful and brave. And she smiled a lot for someone who had, what was at times, a very difficult job.

Teyla watched surreptitiously as Sandy fumbled a bun. The wayward bun hit her tray and bounced outward, though the nurse managed to catch it before it fell off the counter and onto the floor. Sandy looked relieved and embarrassed by the event, and Jennifer smiled.

Teyla smiled as well, and anyone who had been observing her might have thought her to be- what was it John had said that time?- zoned out.

The smile playing on Jennifer's lips was small, as though a larger smile was trying to emerge but was being stifled out of courtesy. It was one of many smiles that Teyla had seen on Jennifer's face since her arrival on Atlantis.

Indeed, she had seen that smile of Jennifer's many times before. The doctor had a joyful sense of humor, but it was governed for the most part by a keen and strong sense of courtesy. She would not laugh or smile outright at someone else's misfortune, though if she found it funny a smile such as the one on her face now would appear.

Sandy muttered something to Jennifer, Teyla couldn't determine what, but Jennifer shrugged her shoulders and the women continued on along the counter.

Teyla smiled at her son as he made a soft noise as he shifted in his sleep. Her eyes drifted back towards Jennifer just as she and Sandy were approaching a table. Two seats were immediately vacated by two young Marines who nodded cordially to the two women as they passed by. Jennifer smiled at them, the wide but not full smile she usually gave to those she thanked for whatever reason.

The two women sat down and began eating, chatting back and forth between bites. Teyla looked to Torren, and when she found him still asleep she once again marveled at how he could sleep so soundly in the daylight but not during the night. She shook her head in amusement and turned her attention back to Sandy and Jennifer. John and Ronon approached their table, and as Jennifer looked up Teyla observed her third different type of smile that morning: the warm smile Jennifer gave her friends as a hello and sometimes as a goodbye.

The two men placed their trays on the table and sat down, and for a moment Teyla wondered where Rodney was. It hadn't been uncommon to find him dining with Jennifer in the mornings over the past couple of weeks, though there were mornings when he never showed up at all or he dined with his team. Rodney worked hard, she knew, too hard in her opinion and was easily distracted by his work.

Ronon quickly reached over and picked something off Jennifer's tray, and for a moment everyone at the table froze. Then Ronon shrugged and said something, something very funny if the way Sandy laughed and Jennifer smiled was any indication. It was the smile Teyla had seen before when Jennifer found something funny that perhaps she thought she shouldn't have or simply didn't want to admit it.

Teyla reached down and wiped a small pool of drool out of the corner of her son's mouth with the cloth she always kept close by. As she watched her peacefully sleeping son she thought of Jennifer and her smiles.

She had seen the physician smile specific smiles for many reasons. She had seen her smile warmly in friendly affection; thinly when she was trying to be polite; with a sigh whenever she was relieved about something; widely and with bright eyes when she delivered good news; with boundless energy when she was excited; with the right side of her mouth a little higher than the left when she found something incredibly sweet; with wide eyes when she had been surprised; and with a glow in her round cheeks when she was happy.

A majority of people would say that most of those smiles were indistinguishable from each other. She supposed most would say that they were in fact identical. She knew better. She knew that smiles were not only about the lips and how they looked. Smiles were about how the lips moved, how much they moved, what was in a person's eyes when they smiled, how the rest of their face moved along with the smile, the way the head tilted or turned and any of a number of other movements. A smile was about the whole person and what that smile meant was determined by their entire body.

Teyla looked back to the table just in time to see Jennifer quickly smile, and the way her eyes impishly narrowed told Teyla that she was about to do something interesting. Sure enough a moment later when Ronon turned just enough away from her so that he couldn't see her, Jennifer picked something up off her tray and let it fly towards his head. She quickly reached down and brought a piece of toast up to her lips, bit a piece off and was chewing by the time Ronon turned back to face her. She held on for a few moments before letting the corners of her mouth edge upward, which was followed by a quick shrug of her shoulders to say she knew she'd been caught but didn't particularly care about it.

Ronon rubbed the side of his head where the small object, a grape Teyla could now tell as it had landed on the floor, had hit. Teyla had no doubt that Ronon had barely felt it and was just trying to torment Jennifer, who simply gave the Satedan another smile, this one coupled with a slight nod of her head to indicate an apology.

John said something to them both and laughter erupted from the table. Teyla looked to Torren, and finding her little one still soundly asleep she bit off a piece of her banana and turned her gaze back to Jennifer and her table mates.

John had gotten up out of his chair and was heading towards her and she could see that most of his food was still on the tray in his hands. As he approached, Teyla noticed that Sandy had also gotten up from the table and was walking towards the exit, leaving Jennifer and Ronon alone.

"Hey there," John said softly as he peered into the stroller. "How's everyone doing?"

"We are well," replied Teyla with a thankful smile. "And you?"

"Can't complain," John replied. "Woolsey just called. Dr. Nichols and his team are on M44-5YN doing…something about global warming or something. Anyway, apparently they've missed a check in. If they don't call within the next half hour Woolsey wants us to go and check it out." He motioned to Torren with his hand. "Will you be able to…?"

Teyla nodded. "I will be there."

John nodded once and gave her an awkward smile. "Alright. See you in a little while."

Teyla quirked an eyebrow as John left, but dismissed the feeling that something was amiss between them. She turned to watch him leave, then sighed and turned her attention back to Jennifer. She was talking with Ronon, leaning back in her chair, smiling politely and genuinely enjoying his company.

Teyla looked down into the stroller at a soft suckling sound and couldn't help but be amused at the way her son was trying to suck on his hand, even though he still appeared to be sound asleep. Teyla finished off the last morsel of banana on her tray and started to stand. As she did she cast a quick glance at Jennifer, and seeing Jennifer's face made her sit back down.

Jennifer and Ronon were still alone at the table but Jennifer had leaned forward, and though they were still talking back and forth Teyla could see the doctor was distracted: her smile was a dead giveaway. It was small and constant, not changing at all despite the passage of the seconds and the continued conversation. Teyla ventured a quick look around and almost immediately found what was distracting Jennifer, or more precisely **who** was distracting her.

Rodney.

Teyla smirked to herself as she turned and checked on her son once again. She reached down and gently moved his hand away from his face, tenderly placing it on his rising and falling chest and then covering it with his blue blanket.

There had been subtle hints from both Jennifer and Rodney of a budding affection for each other, especially since the incident at the Genii underground mining facility. The hints had been so subtle- fleeting glances and hidden or quickly masked smiles- that she had no doubt that no one had even noticed. Lately however, and especially since Jennifer's near death at the hands of the Wraith organism, she saw more blatant examples of it from them both: an obvious stare at Jennifer by Rodney; an appreciative gesture from Jennifer; an innocuous touch here and there from Rodney; a playful hip bump or swat on the arm from Jennifer; an uncharacteristic episode of restraint from Rodney; and, of course, smiles from Jennifer that were so full of affection Teyla would almost be inclined to call them loving.

'Sheppard to Teyla.'

Teyla activated her comm. with a touch of her finger. "Yes, Colonel?"

'Woolsey has decided that we need to go check on Nichols' team,' said her team leader, and his tone of voice left no doubt that he thought it was not something they needed to do at all. 'Rodney says he needs fifteen minutes to eat breakfast, so that means he needs half an hour. When he's done we'll get ready and head out. We'll brief as we gear up.'

"Understood, Colonel," she replied. It was then that she noticed Ronon had left, apparently having gotten the call from John first. "I will be ready when Rodney is."

'See you in the locker room in half an hour then. Sheppard out.'

Teyla heard the soft click of the line going dead and sighed. She had hoped to be able to spend the whole day with her son, but it looked as though her galaxy had other plans for her. Kanaan would be by any minute for breakfast, and when he did she would have to take her leave.

In the meantime, and after checking to find Torren still sleeping, she was free to continue her observance of Jennifer. Teyla watched with great interest as Jennifer gave Rodney an affectionate and friendly smile, then tucked her hair behind her right ear and surreptitiously made sure her jacket was free of any crumbs or spills from her breakfast. She had just run her hands down the front of said jacket to straighten it when Rodney sat down at the table next to her.

They exchanged pleasantries and Rodney took one of the two steaming cups off his tray and placed it in front of Jennifer. Her smile was one of profound thanks as she picked up the cup and brought it to her lips. They continued talking, Rodney his usual animated self and Jennifer seeming to be more than content to just listen to him, chiming in occasionally and earning barely contained looks of admiration and fondness from Rodney. Then he must have said something embarrassing for him, for he stopped talking and slowly turned to face Jennifer, his eyes wide with dread and his mouth eerily still. Finally Jennifer slowly licked her lips and the right side of her mouth edged upwards and her left eyebrow followed suit as she responded. Rodney looked perplexed for a moment, and then slightly relieved and intrigued and nervous at the same time as though he thought she could have possibly been flirting with him, which she had been Teyla knew for a fact.

Teyla smiled as Jennifer laughed and gently bumped her left shoulder against Rodney's right, but the laughter ceased immediately as her hand went to her ear. A moment later Jennifer was rising from her chair.

She took a step behind him and placed her right hand on his right shoulder, then leaned down so she was close to his left ear. Her eyes sparkled as she spoke for a moment and Rodney nodded somewhat hesitantly. When Jennifer was finished she stood up and took a step towards the exit, her hand sliding along Rodney's shoulder, past his neck and along his other shoulder as she moved away.

Rodney had a small smile on his face as he watched her weave her way past the tables, turning his attention back to his breakfast only when she reached the door.

_A pity_, thought Teyla as she looked from Rodney to the exit. If Rodney had continued to keep his eyes on Jennifer, he might have seen her hesitate by the door and look at him with a smile so bright, so all encompassing, that Jennifer seemed to glow with wondrous warmth from head to foot.

Teyla contemplated that smile as Jennifer slipped past the doorway and out of sight, one she had never seen from the healer before. Her inner beauty seemed to be shining through; her innermost feelings seemed to be permitted to show themselves for the first time in a long time.

Teyla nodded to herself as she realized the significance of that new and wonderful smile, and she felt so amazed, so grateful and so happy that Jennifer had found a man she could love. That another of her friends- her brother- would be that man was simply icing on the cake, as the Earth people said.

And when she looked back to Rodney to share her realization with him if only in a look, she found him watching the exit where Jennifer had been and her heart soared, for like Jennifer Rodney had a smile on his face that, for an instant, allowed his true and deep feelings to be known to her.

Teyla felt a kiss on her cheek and smiled.

"What are you so happy about?" asked Kanaan as he sat down next to Torren's stroller and checked on the boy.

Teyla smiled and gave the father of her son a thoughtful look. "I have just discovered that two of my friends love each other very much." She sighed happily at the prospect of Rodney and Jennifer finding love in each other and hoped they would be permitted to explore and nurture it.

And she would do all that she could to help them.

Fin


End file.
